Trump Lawfare

The proliferation of lawsuits and suspensions of orders by district judges across the country has created what can perhaps be described as an all-out war between the power of the judiciary and the power of the executive.

The showdown is between President Donald Trump and what is overwhelmingly a Democrat-appointed District-level judgeship willing to take as unprecedented actions as the President himself is taking.

Here Are All The Major Lawsuits Against Trump And Musk: Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Let It Fire Ethics Official – Forbes

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Timeline

Feb. 16 The Treasury Department asked the Supreme Court to throw out a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked Trump’s firing of government ethics watchdog Hampton Dellinger, the AP reports, after District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Trump “plainly” violated the law by firing the ethics official.

The Trump administration went to the Supreme Court after a panel of judges at a D.C.-based federal appeals court ruled 2-1 to uphold the lower court’s ruling shielding Dellinger, whom former President Joe Biden appointed to a five-year term at the Office of Special Counsel, which handles issues like protecting whistleblowers against retaliation.

Feb. 14 U.S. District Judge John Bates—whom Musk and his allies had previously been attacking for issuing an unfavorable opinion—sided with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and declined to issue a restraining order blocking DOGE from accessing information at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, as labor unions had asked for, with Bates swatting down the legal arguments the unions made even as he acknowledged his “serious concerns” about DOGE’s access to the data.

Feb. 13 A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift a freeze on foreign aid—which began three weeks ago—noting that the officials “have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid…was a rational precursor to reviewing programs.” the judge said.

Feb. 13 Fourteen states, led by New Mexico, sued Musk, Trump and DOGE, alleging the power given to Musk by Trump is unconstitutional and that Musk “has roamed through the federal government unraveling agencies, accessing sensitive data, and causing mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.”

Feb. 13 Baltimore-based Judge Brendan A. Hurson blocked Trump’s directives restricting transgender health care and gender-affirming care for people under age 19, multiple outlets report—putting the restrictions on hold as the lawsuit, brought by transgender youth, moves forward—with Hurson saying at a hearing that Trump’s restrictions on the medical treatments “seems to deny that this population even exists, or deserves to exist.”

Feb. 13 Trump’s executive order rescinding birthright citizenship for people born in the U.S. to parents who aren’t citizens or permanent residents was blocked for a fourth time in court, as District Judge Leo T. Sorokin issued an order pausing the policy in response to a lawsuit brought by an expectant mother who has Temporary Protected Status and is in the U.S. lawfully, but is not a permanent resident or citizen.

Feb. 13 Trump-appointed District Judge Carl Nichols extended a previous order blocking the Trump administration from putting 2,200 employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on leave—part of the White House’s broader plan to dismantle the foreign aid agency, which the federal employees union that brought the lawsuit called “unconstitutional and illegal”—with Nichols’ order barring the federal government from removing any USAID workers from the countries where they’re stationed until at least Feb. 21.

Feb. 13 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, sued the Trump administration in federal court, alleging the administration has not disbursed more than $2 billion in approved federal funds it owes the state despite a previous court order lifting the administration’s proposed freeze on federal spending.